Table 1 shows one common engine and engine cooling related problems of the 2026 GMC Yukon.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Engine And Engine Cooling problems |
Nothing has happened yet. However, after only 308 miles… my 2026 denali is knocking and ticking very loud. Why? how is this possible? we’ve only had it 2 weeks! I have only driven it 5-6 times in the past 14-15 days, too worried that this might happen. But I was reassured by the dealership it wouldn’t. But here I am now. I am so disappointed. Being a disabled vet I thought we could have something that we both liked. Now I am upset because I feel betrayed and lied to. I did a video but it’s too large to upload so I can’t get it under 10mb.
Engine starting clicking during highway drive then engine failed mid-drive and engine was trying to restart on its own mid drive. Vehicle totally stalled out in the street, with numerous attempts the engine did not start. Total mileage on car was 2,900.
Engine failed with just 3,633 miles. Covert GMC is replacing the entire engine.
On 3/14/26, on I-75 in troy, michigan at 70mph the vehicle, with 4000k miles on the odometer completely shut off. I pushed to restart the engine and it would not restart. My whole family was in the car and we were on a curve. I was able to coast to a flat shoulder. The vehicle would not restart or shift out of park. Onstar took seven hours to tow the vehicle. The dealer is installing a new l87 6. 2l engine. I do not have the vehicle back yet. I received an economy car as a loaner. The dealer says gm will not extend the factory warranty despite the engine replacement. My family could have been easily killed.
Engine lost power, making noises that sounded like an exhaust leak. Had vehicle towed to dealership. Advised the next day the main bearing had failed and engine needed to be replaced.
2026 Yukon elevation with 3,957miles. I was driving down the road and pulled into the turn lane at an intersection. Vehicle cut off with the auto start/stop function and would not start back up. I continued and tried to restart the vehicle but would not start; I was blocking the lane with cars continuously going around me. Vehicle stated service transmission on the display- I was unable to put it into neutral to push it out of traffic; you are only allowed to put it into neutral when crank and couldnt get the accessory mode to come on without the vehicle trying to start. I called the local police department and they sent an officer to direct traffic until a tow truck showed up. Both observed the vehicle not starting. There were no symptoms prior to the vehicle cutting off, only once auto start/stop initiated did the vehicle not restart. Vehicle will be sent back to the dealership tomorrow to resolve this issue. I have dash cam footage of the incident and photos of the display on the screen.
The engine started a soft, cyclic tapping sound intermittently on 2/28/26 while I was out of town on a trip. No alerts showed on the gm systems app. On 3/1, while driving home from the trip, the car started hard braking at cruising speed and the engine died and would not restart. I had the car towed to the closest gm dealership and have been told the engine locked up. I just rolled 6000 miles and showed 18% oil life from the original engine oil it came with from the factory. I had been watching the engine problems for years now and waiting for them to be resolved before buying a new gm; only to be lied to that the issue was resolved. Now they're going to install yet another defective engine.
2026 GMC Yukon xl denali, VIN [xxx] , 6. 2l v8 l87 engine. At 3,168 miles, vehicle developed rough idle and knocking noise. Delivered to sewell Buick GMC dallas on 3/2/26. Dealer diagnosed crankshaft thrust bearing spun. Tech pinpointed bottom-end noise via stethoscope, found excessive metal debris in oil and oil filter. Engine teardown confirmed thrust bearing failure. Required complete engine replacement (gm #xxx), plus oil cooler/radiator, oil cooler lines, torque converter bolts, and all one-time-use parts due to metal contamination. Old engine serial [xxx] , new engine [xxx] . Repaired under warranty 3/9/26, ro #xxx. This is the identical failure mode that caused NHTSA recall 25v-274 covering ~597,630 l87-equipped vehicles (my 2021-2024). Gm stated manufacturing improvements were completed by 6/1/24 and 2025+ models were not affected. My 2026 model year failure directly contradicts this claim and suggests the defect persists in current production. Safety concern: bearing failure causes sudden complete loss of propulsion at any speed. Nhtsa investigation pe25001 notes most failures occur without warning. Loss of power at highway speed creates serious crash risk due to loss of ability to accelerate and reduced power braking/steering. Had this failure progressed further while driving with my family, consequences could have been severe. No crash or injury occurred in this instance. This 2026 model year failure indicates NHTSA's investigation scope should expand to include current production vehicles. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Engine failure while driving 75 miles per hour in highway in brand new Yukon denali. 3,000 miles and got a “decreased acceleration” warning. Then couldn’t accelerate and loud knocking noise from the engine, likely a lifter issue. I will have to get a new engine according to GMC. Unbelievable. Recall was for 2021-2024, but my 2026 is havin the same issue.
On [xxx], I was driving on the highway with my family in the vehicle and the check engine light came on, then it started running roughly. I headed off the highway on an exit ramp and the engine died about halfway down the ramp. It wouldn't restart after that. This happened about an hour away from my house in painesville, OH. I live in erie, PA. I had to tow it to the nearest GMC dealer. They've since concluded that the engine failed and have ordered a replacement engine from GMC. The Yukon only had about 4,900 miles on it. GMC has claimed that their engine problems were fixed for the 2025 and 2026 model years, or else I would not have purchased this vehicle. Obviously there are still major issues and the 2026 6. 2l engines need to be recalled. I understand that there is an ongoing investigation into these issues: rq26001. Please see that the investigators are made aware of this incident. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).
Vehicle has 2200 miles, equipped with the diesel engine and failed at a red light. Gm has to install a new engine.
Purchased brand new vehicle 2026 xl denali, hadn’t even had my first oil change, and had a complete engine failure in the middle of the road. Prior to engine failure, car ran fine without an issue - so failure came out of nowhere. Towed, where GMC and dealer determined entire engine needed to be replaced. GMC did cover and dealer did install a new engine. However: 1. I was out of a vehicle for almost a month. 2. I have incurred a depreciation cost of 10-15% on my vehicle due to this problem. 3. I have lost confidence in my brand new vehicle, as GMC has not fixed the reoccurring engine problems from previous years - despite promises to the contrary.
Vehicle engine stopped working at 5200 miles. Was driving on highway and immediately stopped. Vehicle would not start. Towed to dealership and next day dealer confirmed that the engine needed to be replaced.
The contact owns a 2026 GMC Yukon denali. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 mph, the vehicle stalled and failed to return to normal operation. The message "shifting to neutral" was displayed on the instrument panel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact researched and became aware of an unknown recall however, the VIN was not under recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,303.
The contact owns a 2026 GMC Yukon xl. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine. The abnormal sound disappeared after the engine had warmed up. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the engine had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle remained at the dealer unrepaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 3,500.